Alan Smale

Darwin’s Rocket Alan Smale, rocket scientist and acclaimed alternate history author, joins us with a new tale about an evolution that could have been…

The Sunday Morning Transport soars today with a story from Alan Smale (@alansmale.bsky.social) in which a familiar figure follows a very different arc. Read a sample or subscribe for the whole story - and our whole catalog!

Subscribe to The Sunday Morning Transport An amazing science fiction/fantasy short story each week. Click to read The Sunday Morning Transport, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.

Delighted to announce the release of "Darwin's Rocket", in Sunday Morning Transport! -in which we meet Charles Darwin and sister Caroline in a tale about an evolution that might have been... Subscription-only, but here's a link for a 60-dy free trial... www.sundaymorningtransport.com/subscribe?co...

I thought it was a well-balanced panel and a very informative conversation. Thanks for putting it together!

Why yes, I will be appearing on the SFWA Stage at the Baltimore Book Festival on Saturday 13th with these fine people, talking about alternate history, historical fantasy, and who knows what else? We're doing the Twist!

(Pro tip: the rest of the BBF schedule is terrific, too.)

Yes, this one appeared in my Notifications.

Lancer Kind Science fiction author

My interview series with the award-winning SciFi Thoughts podcast continues ... and today my reading from the beginning of Radiant Sky has gone live! Catch up at
lancerkind.com/series/scifi...

Podcast Thursday! Check out my conversation with
@lancerkind.bsky.social about Hot Moon, Radiant Sky, and all things #science and #apollo ... you'll find it at lancerkind.com/podcast/319-...

It's all go! Tomorrow night I'll be presenting, live and in person, at the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society. And since it's Friday 13th, please wish me All the Luck for the drive up ...

Okay well nothing about -that- is alarming.

Happy Release Day to a new Baen reprint anthology dedicated to the Rome of the past and future, including "The Wandering Warriors" by Alan Smale + Rick Wilber (which originally appeared in Asimov's)! We're in great company in this book, which contains several classics I look forward to (re)reading.

I retired from NASA after a thirty-five year career a year and a half ago (+), and still today's budget news broke me.

Yes, I'll be at #Balticon this weekend! I'll be moderating four "craft of writing" panels:

Sat 4:00 PM Writing Action Scenes
Sat 5:30 PM Writing Dialogue
Sun 1:00 PM Juggling POV
Mon 10:00 AM Basic Novel Writing Organization

Otherwise, look for me at the Arc Manor table in the dealers room!

Issue 90 - My Favorite Museum The great Steven H Silver comes aboard to bring us looks at the favorite Local (for values of local...) museums of dozens of fantastic contributors!

Out today! Hugo-award-winning zine Journey Planet, Issue 90, covers an astonishing 60 museums on 7 continents. Includes my feature about the National Cryptologic Museum, plus articles by several friends and fellow writers. [Download free, no reg. required!]

www.journeyplanet.org/journey-plan...

Next week is Ravencon, in Glen Allen, VA! (Richmond-adjacent.) If you're going to be there, come find me at one of my five panels, my reading, or my (debut) solo presentation "Points of Divergence: Writing (and Reading) Alternate History"!

(... Yes, all that in <48 hrs...)

260: Alan Smale: Blending Science, History, and Imagination — Beth Mund Alan discusses how his extensive travels and deep scientific knowledge influence his writing, leading to immersive stories like the Clash of Eagles trilogy and the Apollo Rising series.

Podcast Thursday! "Casual Space, Ep.260: Alan Smale, Blending Science, History, and Imagination", in which I chat with fabulous host-with-grace Beth Mund about Cahokia and my Clash series, my writing process, NASA work, Hot Moon books, and the power of story.
www.bethmund.com/casual-space...

Happy Book Birthday to us! "Shapers of Worlds, Volume V" drops today from Shadowpaw Press, edited by @edwardwillett.bsky.social, and featuring my original story, "Red-Eye and Thunderbird", along with new tales from a strong cast of other writers who have recently appeared on the "Shapers" podcast.

Ten years ago today my first novel, CLASH OF EAGLES, came out from Del Rey. Here's the picture I posted on social media that day. I seem quite cheerful about it ...

So a lot happened today, but also: I delivered BURNING NIGHT, Apollo Rising: Book 3 (aka Hot Moon 3) to my publisher. We celebrated with champagne, bangers and mash, and Scrabble. Because you can never have enough words.

Video of the Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost landing. I love the way the dust kicked up by its plume just drops straight back down to the surface, because there's no air; it's an effect I describe in the Hot Moon books, and very cool to see happening here in real life.
www.facebook.com/watch?v=1007...

And we're off! The new ZNB Kickstarter for original SF/F pirate anthology SKULL X BONES is live, for your backing and (eventual) reading pleasure. I'll have a story in this antho, and so will many other fine writers. Please take a look and consider helping us set sail for adventure!

Ep 50: Alan Smale on Lunar Warfare in 'Hot Moon' - The Science in The Fiction Marty talks to Alan Smale, a professional astronomer and author of hard science fiction, alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy, and horror. We talk to him about his most recent book 'Hot Moon...

Podcast Thursday! Everything is bonkers so I paused these, but... if you want to escape from reality for a while, check out Ep.50 of "The Science in the Fiction", just released, in which I chat to Marty K. about lunar warfare in an alternate past ...
www.buzzsprout.com/2201157/epis...

Virginia peeps! Tomorrow I'll be at Book People in Richmond, 1pm-3pm, reading from RADIANT SKY, taking any and all questions, and signing. Please show up and say Hi if you're in the area, and feel so inclined.
www.bookpeoplerichmond.com/event/alan-s...

Or, more specifically: “Smale’s Apollo Rising series rests upon his convincingly-robust depiction of what could have been accomplished in space exploration given the technology available in the 1970s and 1980s.”
www.analogsf.com/current-issu...

Thrilled by my latest Analog review: “[The books] make for intriguing speculation.. Smale, who has twice won the Sidewise Award for alt.history, can be counted on to give readers clear-eyed, nuanced takes on alternative events that could plausibly have transpired.”
www.analogsf.com/current-issu...

Apollo Rising: An Interview with Celebrated Author and Former NASA Astrophysicist Alan Smale Home Podcasts MQSWF Events Student Testimonials Research Seminars About Contact

Podcast Thursday: From a land down under! I'm interviewed by Michelle Hamadache, professor of English Studies and Creative Writing at Macquarie University on the literary podcast, “From the Lighthouse”, about books, creativity, imagination, and perseverance.
www.fromthelighthouse.org/2025/apollo-...

YouTube video by THE BILLION INSIGHTS 🇬🇧🇺🇸 Sci-Fi Deep Dive: Featuring NASA Scientist Dr. Alan Smale! with Shree #38

And for those of you who'd like the full audiovisual experience my recent interview for "The Billion Insights", here's a YouTube link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF7N...

“The Billion Insights” podcast explores culture, science, technology, art ,business, etc. with guests from around the world. I join host Shree for a deep dive into astrophysics, AI, alt.hist, SF movies, my Apollo Rising books, and many other topics. Podcast: thebillioninsights.com/podcast/epis...

New feature: Podcast Thursday! I've done a -lot- of podcast interviews and radio shows and such recently, and I'll be rolling them out here, once a week, until I catch up. Here we go:

So on brand. Merry Christmas!

One of the most fascinating things about researching my CLASH OF EAGLES series was learning about how the North American river system and the various watersheds work. I spent days staring at maps like this, making measurements and calculating Viking longship and canoe travel times, etc ...